You know what grinds my gears?

A few minutes ago I received an email from an organization I am a part of. After reading the preview on Gmail, I decided that I wasn’t going to open it. Not because it was spam or because I’m lazy, but because instead of writing “Dear Jennifer,” they went with the ever personal “Dear Full_Name.” Companies, if you’re going to use a form letter, make sure to write in the correct name. I realize that using form letters save time, but I hate that so many people use it as an excuse to be lazy.

This brings me to another pet peeve of mine. There is a HUGE difference between being on and being active. Just because you’re online pushing your content doesn’t mean you’re doing it well. As a self-diagnosed Twitter addict I can’t help but die a little inside every time I see a company or blogger solely push their own agenda. They’re all push and no pull. They send out tweets about their product launches, blog posts and giveaways/discounts, but don’t engage their audience. They’re ignoring the conversation. It’s one thing to not initiate the conversation, but if someone replies and you don’t respond? That’s unacceptable.

I am much more likely to recommend and talk about a company who values the conversation between it and its customers, as well as between customer A and customer B. I don’t expect to know every detail about your day, but let your followers know about a cool link you’ve found or something funny that happened to you on your way to work. Share relevant information that can spark a dialogue between more than you and your employees. These tools exist for a reason. Let people know that there are people behind the corporation and not just machines. In other words, no spamming, no form letters, and absolutely no “Thanks for following” DMs with a link to your product. Take advantage of the platforms in front of you and ask yourself what attracts you to a company.

I love getting to know the people behind the company, which is why I love that the Border Stylo blog has so many authors. We’re still building our community, but I like to think that we’re off to a great start.

Since we’re sharing, what are some of your online pet peeves?